Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or Independent you’ve been subjected to your fair share of advertising leading up to the election next Tuesday. And unless you live somewhere where a lot of candidates are running unopposed you’ve probably seen and heard a lot of negative advertising.

I found a well designed, informative website called Project Vote Smart that eliminates all of the name calling, mudslinging, politicking, etc. that allows you to quickly (and anonymously, I hope) choose where you stand on 12 key topics. Once you’ve entered that info, and your zip code, you’ll be able to see which candidates best align with your views. Not only is the site helpful – and enlightening in some cases – it’s also rather relaxing compared to what’s on the airwaves. The candidates appear on election-like yard signs in a large field of ultra green grass with an almost cloudless blue sky above it. In stark contrast to some of the bombastic and ridiculous ads out there you can hear birds lightly chirping in the background here.

So, if you’re on the fence about a candidate log-in and read-up, it is your civic duty after all! I’m Kirk and I approve this blogpost.

OK, this really looks interesting: Internet access from your family TV. It was announced yesterday that Google TV will debut sometime this Fall. The slides at this link tell the whole story. If you’re so enamored with this idea that you must have it, you can pre-order the equipment here, as you will need a box to sit with your television set. Price tag? $299. For that sum, you will also get a special laptop (QWERTY + trackpad + other nifty controls), and the necessary cables. Your TV must have a HDMI port, and you’ll need an Internet connection. By the way, you can use your smartphone as the remote control! Read more of this post